Community Gives Thanks

More than 12,000 people gathered downtown at the Palmer Events Center for the annual Feast of Sharing Thanksgiving meal.

The meal is provided every year to anyone in the community, and is sponsored by H-E-B. Spokesman for the Texas-based grocery chain, Danny Flores, said H-E-B is happy to give back to the community. "It's all about respect," he said.

In order to serve every single person who walked through the door, volunteers and H-E-B staffers prepared more than 3,000 pounds of turkey. But they didn't forget about the gravy and the rest of the trimmings, which include: 380 gallons of mashed potatoes; 2,500 pounds of cornbread dressing; 220 pounds of vegetable medley; 95 gallons of jellied cranberry sauce; 140 gallons of turkey gravy; 750 pieces of pumpkin pie; 12,000 dinner rolls.

Telecommunications giant Sprint was on hand, among the dozens of other vendors and entertainers, to allow people to call home for free.

The Feast of Sharing is in its 20th year.